Method of making wheel trim



April 13, 1943. s. A. LYON 2,316,346 v METHOD OF MAKING WHEEL TRIM FiledJan. 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l v @{0865 444:8? [ram April 13, 1943. G.A. LYON 2,316,345

' METHOD OF MAKING WHEEL TRIM Filed Jan. 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNlT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE-Q METHOD OF IVIAKINGWHEEL TRIM George Albert Lyon, Allenhurst, N. J. ApplicatioirJanuary 20,1940, Serial N0. 314,818

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of makin wheel trim, and moreparticularly wheel trim which may be resiliently snapped intosubstantially permanent engagement-with a wheel.

The majority of vehicle wheels of today are equipped with ornamentaltrim members includin a trim ring or annulus which is substantiallypermanently attached to the wheel. These trim rings are usually formedwith a highly polished exterior surface and for that reason relativelyexpensive metal isnecessary in their manufacture. In order to reducemanufacturing costs to a minimum, it is desirable to manufacture thesetrim rings from extremely thin metal stock. The thickness dimension orgauge of the stock employed is governed to a large extent by the natureand character of the attaching means which is formed on the wheel tri mfor attaching the wheel trim to the wheel.

It is an object of the present invention to pro vide a novel method ofmaking wheel trim which is secured to a wheel in a novel manner andwhich is manufactured from relatively thin metal stock.

the trim ring and wheel assembly taken along the line IIII of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the manner inwhich the trim ring is attached to the wheel;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of makinga. wheel trim or trim ring having integral attaching fingers thereonwhich are cold worked in a novel manner to increase their stiffness andstrength.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod of forming wheel trim or trim rings which include shaping thetrim ring in a forming die and simultaneously cold working integralportions thereof for increasing the strength of the metal in certainareas.

Another and further object of the present invention is to provide anovel method for forming wheel trim or trim rings of very thin sheetmetal stock.

One of the principal features of the present invention is the forming ofa trim ring having integral attaching fingers thereon which fingers arepushed clear through the forming die which shapes the trim ring to itsdesiredconfiguration over a zig-zag or tortuous path.'

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction,together with further objects and. advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by reference to the following description,

Figure 41s a fragmentary sectional rear view showing the manner in whichthe attaching means on the trim ring engages the wheel;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 3showing a different embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 6 and 7 are fragmentary sectional views of a die pressillustrating the novel manner in which the trim ring is formed; and

Figure 8 illustrates the first step of the process of forming the trimring shown in Figures 1 to 4 and in particular shows the manner in whichan annulus having projecting arms is blanked from a flat sheet of metalstock.

Referring now to the embodiment of the present invention illustrated inFigures 1, 2, 3 and 4, there isjshown a trim ring and wheel assemblycomprising a vehicle wheel l0 and a trim ring'l l. The wheel I0comprises a rim part I2 and a body part It. The rim I2 is of the usualdrop center type and includes a base flange l4, opposite intermediateside flanges l5, opposite intremediate base flanges I6 and opposite edgeportions H. The drop center rim l2 as-illustrated is of the typecommonly employed in the automotive vehicle art of the present day, and,as is well known to those skilled in the art, is arranged to receive andaccommodate a pneumatic tire (not shown).

The body part l3 of the wheel I!) includes, in general, a rearwardlyextending outer flange it, an outer web portion ill, a generally axiallyrearwardly and slightly'radially inwardly extending inner web portion20, and a radially inwardly extending wheel mounting flange M. Therearwardly' extending outer flange I8 is secured to the underside of thebase flange Id of the rim l2 in any suitable manner, such as by weldingor riveting (not shown). The circumferentially spaced portions of theflange l8 are depressed radially inwardly as at 22 to permit circulationof airthrough the wheel. The rear edges 23 of the depressed portion 22are cut back. as is clearly shown in Figure 1- of the drawings.

The wheel mounting flange 2| is provided with an annular series ofapertures 24 for the reception of the usual wheel mounting bolts (notshown), which bolts are arranged to extend therethrough and toengagement with the hub portion or' brake drum of the vehicle (notshown).

The trim ring includes a principal body portion 26 which is disposed onthe front face of the wheel Hi to conceal the junction of the wheel bodypart l3 and the rim l2. The trim ring II also includes a plurality ofattaching arms 21 which extend first radially inwardly as at 28 thenaxially rearwardly as at 29 along the radially inner portionor face ofthe rim H.

The arms 21 terminate in a pair of attaching fingers 30 which extendobliquely radially' inwardly and axially forwardly into bitingengagement with the depressed portion 22 of the wheel ID. The radialinner edge 3| of the trim ring H is seated on the body part l3 of thewheel in while the radial outer extremity of the trim ring II is bentback on itself as at 32 and is seated on the intermediate side flange lof the rim l2.

When the trim ring II is mounted on the wheel ID the arms 21 are linedup with the openings formed by the depressed portions 22, ,and the trimring II is then moved axially rearwardly of the wheel until the arms 21slide into the openings formed by the depressed portions 22. As the arms21 slide into these openings the axially rearwardly extending portion 29of the arms 21 telescope with the base flange |4 of the rim l2 while thetips or radial inner extremities of the fingers ride along the face ofthe depressed portion 22. The trim ring II is pushed axially rearwardlyuntil the radial inner edge 3| and the turned portion 32 are seated onthe body part I3 and the rim I2 respectively. Due to the angularposition of the fingers 30 the radial inner extremities thereof make abiting engagement with the depressed portion 22 of the wheel Ill. Anytendency for the trim ring II to become dislodged from the wheel l0 onlycauses the finger portions 30 of the arms 21 to bite deeper into thedepressed portions 22 of the wheel It). It must be understood that avery tight and substantially permanent engagement is provided forsecuring the trim ring II to the wheel In.

In Figure 5 of the drawings I have illustrated a modified form of trimring I for concealing the junction point of the body part l3 of thewheel ID with the rim I2. More specifically, the trim ring H of Figure 5includes a principal body portion 33 which is of curved or arcuatecross-section and which is provided with a radial inner edge 34 seatedon the body part l3 of the wheel l0 and a radial outer edge 35 which isdisposed substantially opposite the radial inner surface of the baseflange ll of the rim l2. A plurality of integral attaching arms areprovided for the trim ring II of Figure 5 which extend axially inwardlyfrom the radial outer edge 35 for telescoping engagement with the baseflange l4 of the rim l2 and which terminate in an obliquely radiallyinwardly and axially forwardly extending tip portion 31. The tip portion31 is disposed at such an angle as to make a biting engagement with thedepressed portion 22 of the wheel Ill. The trim ring ll of Figure 5 ismounted on the wheel in in the same manner as that described inconnection with Figures 1 to 4.

In connection with the description of the mounting of the trim ring llof Figure 5 as well as of the mounting of the trim ring ll of Figures 1to 4 it will be observed that due to the fact that the obliquelyextending tip portions 31 and 30 respectively extend between two opposedfaces and that a strut action is obtained which provides a very tightbiting engagement. That is to say due to the fact that the radial innerface of the base portion l4 of the rim I2 is opposite and opposed to theradial outer face of the depressed portion 22 there can be no radialouter flexing of the axially rearwardly projecting attaching arms.

The novel method forforming the trim ring H is illustratedin Figures 1to 4 of the drawings and for increasing the strength in the-attachingarms is illustrated in Figures 6, '7 and 8. More particularly, a portionof the die press is shown which includes the lower die part 38 in theform of an upstanding ring, a reciprocable lower die pad 39 which ismounted within the lower die ring 38, an upper die part 40' having adepending die ring 4|, and an outer upper die ring 42 which is disposedaround the die ring 4| and arranged for relative reciprocation withrespect thereto. The lower face 43 of the upper die ring 4| and theconfronting face portion 44 of the die pad 39 are arcuately curved incross-section to give the desired configuration to the principal bodyportion 26 of the trim ring ll shown in Figures 1 to 4. Lower die ring38 and upper die ring 42 form the hold-down portion of the die press andtheir confronting faces are annularly corrugated as is indicated at 45and 46 respectively. The reciprocable die pad 39 is spring biasedupwardly with respect to the surrounding lower die ring 38 by means ofsuitable compression springs 41. The upper outer die ring 42 is springbiased downwardly with respect to the inner die ring portion 4| by meansof suitable compression springs 48.

To form the trim ring shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings a fiatsheet of relatively thin metal stock 49 is blanked to form a fiatannulus 50 having four projecting arms 5|. The central portion 52 of theblank 49 may be used to form a hub cap or wheel disk or any othersuitable article. The annulus 50 having the projecting arms 5| is thenplaced in the die press which is illustrated in Figure 6, the dimensionsof the relative die parts being such that the projecting arms 5| of theannulus 50 extend between the holddown parts 38 and 42 and the principalbody portion of the annulus is disposed between the confronting faces 43and 44 of the die parts 4| and 39 respectively. The upper die member 40is then lowered and as the outer upper die ring 42 forces the arms 5|against the lower die ring 38 the arms 5| are given a tortuouscross-sectional configuration due to the corrugations 45 and 46 in theconfronting faces of the lower and upper die rings 38 and 42respectively. As the inner upper die ring 4| forces the principal bodyportion of the annulus 50 against the lower die part 39 this actiongives the principal body portion of the annulus 50 the desiredconfiguration of the principal body part 26 of the trim ring H as shownin Figures 1 to 4.

The downward movement of the upper die member 40 is not halted at thispoint but is continued until the projecting arms 5| are completely drawnthrough the lower upper die rings 38 and 42 respectively as is shown inFigure 7. The drawing or pulling of the arms through the die parts 38and 42 causes the arms 5| to move along a tortuous path and thismovement causes a cold working of the metal in the projecting arms 5|which greatly increases their hardness and strength.

The act of drawing the metal in the projecting arms 5| over a tortuouspath in the die press has the effect of providing a series of reversalsof strain of the metal in the projecting arms 5| beyond the elasticlimit. This of course is due to the fact that the corrugated curvatureinitially given the projecting arms 5| is caused to reverse as the armsare pulled over the corrugation. As will fully be understood andappreciated by those skilled in the art, this novel method of coldworking the projecting arms 5| provides a cold working of the metalwithout any substantial change in the gauge of the metal. It will thusbe understood that a cold working of the metal is obtained quickly,efiiciently, and without any substantial loss of thickness in the metal.The cold working greatly increases the strength of the metal and therebyenables the use of very thin sheet metal stock in forming the trim ringsAfter the various die parts have been moved.

to the position as shown in Figure 7 the upper die member 4|] isretracted and the annulus 50 is lifted out. The arms 5| are thereafterbent into the shape shown in Figures 2 and 3 to form the arms 21 of thetrim ring II.

This novel method of forming the trim ring H which includes the novelprocess for cold working the arms of the trim ring enables the use ofvery thin sheet metal stock and its advantages will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art.

While I have shown particular embodiments of my invention, it will, ofcourse, be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, sincemany modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by theappended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the truespirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a process of forming a ring having tensioned spaced peripheralfingers, the steps comprising blanking the ring including an annularbody with spaced outer peripheral projections from a flat metallicsheet, pressing and gripping said projections in a corrugating die presspart, drawing the ring body while said projections are held by said diepress part to form the ring into predetermined curved cross sectionalshape, and continuing the pressing operation to pull and bend saidprojections out of said die press part into angular relationship theretoso as to cold Work the projections.

2. In a process of forming a ring having tensioned spaced peripheralfingers, the steps comprising blanking the ring including an annularbody with spaced outer peripheral projections from a fiat metallicsheet, pressing and gripping said projections in a corrugating die presspart, drawing the ring body in another die press part while saidprojections are held by said first die press part to form the ring intocurved cross sectional shape, and continuing the pressing operation topull said projections out of said die press part and to obliterate thecorrugations in said projections while forcing the metal in theprojections to describe a wave-like motion and then bending saidprojections into angular disposition relative to the ring body, wherebythe projections are selectively cold worked.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON.

